Ireland keep Triple Crown bid alive with bonus-point win over determined Wales
BIG WIN: Nick Timoney celebrates winning a penalty. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile.
Ireland will take their Triple Crown bid to the final round of the 2026 Guinness Six Nations in Dublin next Saturday after holding off a determined and resolute effort from unfancied Wales on Friday night.
Andy Farrell’s racked up another bonus-point win thanks to tries on home soil from Jacob Stockdale, Jack Crowley, man of the match Jack Conan and Jamie Osborne but his team failed to match the heights their performance reached in the previous round when they hammered England at Twickenham in a record 42-21 victory.
Wales never allowed them to build scoreboard pressure and a try just before half-time from prop Rhys Carre had left Ireland with just 12-10 half-time lead. A second-half try from flanker James Botham also kept the pressure up before a Crowley penalty on 75 minutes finally brought some daylight to the scoreline.
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The home supporters had been expectant of a routine victory against a Wales side going through a painful struggle on the field in tandem with the nation’s rugby problems off it.
Yet their 14th consecutive Six Nations defeat in round three had given an indication of a revival, Scotland having to dig deep to eke out a 26-23 victory in Cardiff, and Irish head coach Andy Farrell had impressed the necessity of continuing the blistering form which had secured their big win at Twickenham on the same weekend 13 days earlier.
The urging of the boss seemed to have been heeded as Ireland grabbed an early try, left wing Jacob Stockdale coming off his flank to break through a tackle close to the posts as the home side piled on the pressure inside the Welsh 22, the Ulsterman claiming his 20th Test try and a first since 2021.
Jack Crowley’s conversion made it 7-0 and Ireland were in command when Jack Conan powered over the tryline with their next entry into the 22, only for TMO Andrew Jackson to spot a Tom O’Toole knock-on at the base of the preceding ruck.
Wales replied soon after that on 16 minutes with a Dan Edwards penalty and the visitors were growing into the game, defending with aggression to thwart Ireland’s attack and causing problems with ball in hand. Referee Karl Dickson placed the home side on a yellow card warning after two penalty concessions close to the Irish line and it needed the combined defensive efforts of Doris, Stuart McCloskey and James Ryan to hold up Carre’s dive across the tryline on 23 minutes.
Farrell had made five changes from that winning side of the last round, including rewarding impressive back-row replacement Nick Timoney a first Six Nations start at openside flanker, one of seven Ulsterman in the matchday 23, Ireland debutant Nathan Doak among them as replacement scrum-half.
Doak got an early introduction as a blood replacement for Gibson-Park, who was forced off in his 50th appearance with a bloodied left knee in the 24th minute, though his earliest involvement saw Wales win a free-kick at an Irish scrum, referee Dickson punishing the Irish front row for not hooking the ball.
Gibson-Park was back on the pitch in the 32nd minute as Ireland looked to extend their lead, but it took a further five minutes to make their breakthrough, sustained pressure eventually paying off as Crowley eluded his tackler in a wide channel to make it 12-3.
The fly-half missed the conversion and there was a further blow before the break as Wales promptly stormed back into contention, the mobile Carre showing a clean pair of heels to break the Irish defensive line from 20 metres out to score for the second game in a row on the stroke of half-time. Edwards’ conversion made it 12-10 as Wales went into the interval with hope renewed and Ireland looking to re-establish that early dominance.
It took just four minutes after the restart to make that happen, Conan finally getting on the scoresheet from short range, though he had to endure another TMO review, for an Irish obstruction, before his try was given, Crowley adding the extras from the tee to make it 19-10.
It should have been the spark for Ireland to kick on and go looking for a try bonus point but instead they failed to get into any attacking rhythm and it made for a frustrating watch during the rest of the third quarter as Wales regained a footing in the contest.
They got their just desserts, flanker James Botham finishing off a concerted siege of the Ireland tryline in the 63rd minute, Edwards’ conversion making it 19-17.
Yet again, Ireland managed to wrestle back momentum, a hack upfield from McCarthy gaining territory inside the 22 and though Wales repelled the first wave, the second thrust was impossible to resist, Gibson-Park racing to just short of the line down the left wing before his side moved the ball inside.
From there, crisp handling along the backline opened space enough for full-back Jamie Osborne to repeat his Twickenham score right of the posts as he rounded the last defender to claim the bonus-point try with 11 minutes remaining.
Crowley sent his conversion wide of the posts but Wales were running out of time to punish the miss and they had lost scrum-half Tomos Williams to the sin bin.
It allowed Ireland to remain on the front foot, replacement Ciaran Frawley breaking down the right wing to reclaim an Irish foothold in the Welsh 22. A penalty accrued to the home side and Crowley made no mistake, his three points taking away a losing bonus point from the never-say-die visitors.
It was a cruel blow that leaves Wales with a final game at home to Italy, when they will hope they have a chance to avoid a third successive wooden spoon. As for Ireland, a Triple Crown and second place remains firmly on the agenda with Scotland up next in Dublin a week on Saturday.
J Osborne; R Baloucoune, G Ringrose (T Farrell, 69), S McCloskey, J Stockdale (C Frawley, 69); J Crowley, J Gibson-Park (N Doak, 24-32 – blood; 75); T O’Toole (M Milne, 63), R Kelleher (T Stewart, 63), T Furlong (T Clarkson, 60), J Ryan (J McCarthy, 60), T Beirne; J Conan, N Timoney (J van der Flier, 60), C Doris - captain.
L Rees-Zammit; E Mee (L Hennessey, 69), E James, J Hawkins, J Adams; D Edwards, T Williams; R Carre (N Smith, 45), D Lake – captain (R Elias, 56), T Francis (A Griffin, 56); D Jenkins, B Carter (A Beard, 56); A Mann, J Botham, A Wainwright (O Cracknell, 45).
T Williams 68-78 Replacements not used: K Hardy, J Evans.
Karl Dickson (England)
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